Peeling machine



R. M. PECK ET AL FEELING MACHINE Nov; 3, 1970' 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed July 23, 1968 INVENTORS Roberi M. Peck Edwin P. Thompson ATTORNEY Nov. 3,1970 1, Ec ETAL 3,537,342

, l v I FEELING. MACHINE. Filed July 23, 1968 v :5 'shee ts sheet 2 A T TORNE Y Nov. 3,1970 a. M. PECK ETAL 3,537,342

FEELING MACHINE Filed Ju1y'23, i968 I 5 Sheets-Sheet s Hllllllll 29 Fig. 5 f

INVENTQRS Robert M- Peck n Edwin P. Thompson ATTORNEY Nov. 3, 1970 R. M. PECK ETAL 3,537,342

FEELING MACHINE Filed July 23, 1968 Y 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 Fig. 9 "8 Fig. /0

INVENTORS R barf M. Peck BY Edwin P. Thompson ATTORNEY United States Patent "ice U.S. Cl. 82-101 12 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A machine for peeling a strip from a rotatably mounted source mass by pulling the strip against a knife, with the radial feed of the knife, with respect to the axis of rotation of the source mass, related to the rate of rotation of the source mass.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION There are a number of industrial operations involving the conversion of an initially solid mass (referred to in this text as a source mass) to a rolled-up strip of predetermined thickness. The preferred form of the present invention has been developed primarily to convert a log of foamed plastic material into a sheet which may be usable for upholstering, carpet pads, or any other of the numerous uses to which foamed resilient material has commonly been put. These logs are often formed from ground scrap foamed material which has been bonded together in a mold with the application of suitable adhesive. This procedure makes a very effective scrap-conservation system, and provides a sheet of material giving the necessary resilience wherever lateral structural strength is not a primary requisite. The logs are usually made in a cylindrical mold, and are invariably provided with a central core pipe of standard dimensions to give sufficient structural rigidity to the log to permit it to be handled by conventional lifting equipment. These logs will commonly run six to eight feet in length, and between two and three feet in diameter.

It has been generally recognized that this type of source mass can be converted into sheet form by rotating it against a knife arranged generally parallel to'the axis of rotation of the mass. Machines for this type of operation have been developed, and these' have been usually adapted to apply a torque to the source mass to drive it against the knife, with the log being fed to the knife at -a predetermined rate, the knife remaining in a fixed position. The difficulty in this type of machine has been the inevitable complexity of rotating the log at a controlled rate such that the peripheral speed remains about the same, while the diameter of the log is continually decreasing. It is, of course, desirable to conduct the cutting operation on the maximum permissible rate of engagement of whatever form of knife is used. This type of drive, coupled with the necessity of a mechanism providing a progressive reduction in the distance between the knife and the axis of rotation of the log (referred to here as the feed), has tended to result in a sufficiently massive and complex mechanism as to make it difficult to (a) engage the log with it, (b) to control or vary the feed as the cutting operation proceeds, and ,(c) maintain a satisfactory cutting action over the full reduction of the log to sheet form.

3,537,342 Patented Nov. 3, 1970 The present invention has approached the cutting operation from a completely different angle. The log of foamed material is mounted for free rotation on a fixed axis in the machine, and the peeled strip is simply pulled past the knife by the force provided with a wind-up roller. This roller arrangement engages the periphery of the Wound roll, and therefore produces a constant linear velocity, regardless of the diameter of either the roll or the log. It also produces a very desirable degree of tension in the strip of material after it has been severed by the knife assembly. The feed arrangement is controlled entirely by a power take-off from the induced rotation of the log, on the principle that a constant strip thickness is produced by moving the knife assembly toward the axis of rotation at a constant rate with respect to the rate of rotaion of the log. Preferably, the knife assembly is mounted above the log, and the natural force of gravity on a carriage which supports the knife assembly is utilized to minimize the amount of torque that has to be withdrawn from the rotating long to control the feed movement. The use of the familiar ball screw arrange-' ment further minimizes the amount of power required for the feeding movement, with the net effect of utilizing the power take-off from the log merely as a system for retarding the fall of the knife carriage to a predetermined rate. The power transfer is preferably variable, so that the rate of downward movement of the knife can be controlled with respect to the rate of rotation of the log to produce predetermined standard thicknesses of peeled strip. A mechanism is also incorporated in the machine for returning the carriage upwardly to a position well above the log, so that a new log can be inserted in place after the previous log has been converted to strip. The rolled strip accumulated by the wind-up roller is maintained in position by a structure which can be opened to facilitate the removal of the wound roll, and preferably functions as a ramp for conducting the roll onto some form of pallet or other carrier.

The support of the log in the machine during the cutting operation is provided by a pair of coaxial opposite shafts, one of which is preferably axially slidable to permit the insertion of the log. This arrangement makes it possible to merely lift the log into place with a standard lift truck or overhead hoist, and then secure the log in the machine by coupling the shafts into the core pipe around which the log has been molded. The first portion of the sheet peeled from the log is generated by manually rotating the log against the action of the knife for a revolution or two, after which the resulting strip is led to the wind-up roller, preferably around a core rod or pipe whichis positioned by the structure referred to.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION The several features of the invention will be analyzed in detail through an analysis of the embodiment illustrated in the accompanying drawings. In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the end of the machine which is occupied by the wound roll of strip peeled from the source mass.

'FIG. 2 is an elevation of the opposite end of the machine from that shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary view showing a portion of the frame of the machine associated with the driving mechanism for the wind-up structure, and for the carriage elevating mechanism.

FIG. 4 is a side elevation of the machine.

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary view of the framework of the portion of the machine associated with the positioning of the wound roll.

FIG. 6 is a section on an enlarged scale showing the portion of the machine immediately surrounding the active portion of the knife assembly as it engages the source mass. FIGURE 6 is a section on the plane 6-6 of FIG. 2.

FIG. 7 is a fragmentary perspective view showing the power-transfer mechanism for controlling the lowering of the carriage to produce the feed movement of the knife.

FIG. 8 is a fragmentary view showing the portion of the mechanism which includes the clutch for disengaging the feed, and for engaging the elevating mechanism.

FIG. 9 is a rear elevation of the machine.

FIG. 10 is a section on the plane 1010 of FIG. 9.

FIG. 11 is a fragmentary section on an enlarged scale showing the structure for positioning the band knife.

The machine illustrated in the drawings include a frame formed by the upper beams and 21 interconnected by the end members 22 and 23, the lower beams 24 and 25 interconnected by the end members 26 and 27, the rear extensions 28 and 29, and the vertical pairs of guideway rails 30-31 and 32-33 which interconnect the upper and lower structure. The vertical pairs of spaced rails 34-35 and 36-37 for laterally positioning the ends 38 and 39 of the coil rod for the wound roll 40 may also be considered as part of the frame of the machine. The rails 35 and 37 are pivotally connected to the extensions 28 and 29, respectively, on the pins 41 and 42, which engage extension forks as indicated at 43 and 44 welded to the bottom of the rails 35 and 37. Latch bars 45 and 46 are pivotally connected to the companion rails 34 and 36, and may be swung from the position of the bar 45 of FIG. 1 to that of the bar 46, through the use of handles as shown at 47, to permit the rails 35 and 37 to be swung from the position of the rail 35 to that of the rail 37 so that the roll 40 may be rolled out onto the floor or onto a conveying vehicle.

The leg 48 of foamed material functions as a source mass, and has a continuous pipe core having the ends 49 and 50. A central structure for supporting the log is provided by the beam assembly having an inverted U-shaped configuration at opposite sides of the machine and indicated at 51 and 52. This structure may also be considered as part of the framework of the machine, the lower extremity of these support structures being secured, respectively, to the lower beams 24 and 25. The coaxial stub shafts 53 and 54 are mounted in suitable bearings 55 and 56 in the beams 51 and 52, with the shaft 53 being axially movable in the bearings 55 to permit withdrawal of the shaft 53 axially to the left for insertion of the log 48. Coupling devices 57 and 58 on the inner ends of the shafts 53 and 54 engage the ends 49 and 50 of the core pipe associated with the log 48, and the machine is then ready to be placed in operation.

The cutting knife assembly incorporated in the illustrated machine is not broadly new. The preferred form of the knife involves an endless knife band 59 positioned by wheels (not shown) within the housings 60 and 61, and driven by the motor 59a. One run of the endless band knife is shown at FIG. 6, with the return run being disposed within the housing section 62 appearing in FIG. 2. A structure for stabilizing the knife is best shown in FIGS. 6 and 11. The sheath strips 63 and 64 bear lightly on the top and bottom parallel surfaces of the band knife 59, and are spaced apart by the strip 65. The effect of these is to limit the contact of the moving band knife with the cut material to the area adjacent the cutting edge 66 to eliminate drag on the material. The plates 67 and 68 are connected to the sheath plate and spacer assembly in any convenient fashion, and extend to the square supporting beam 69 extending between the brackets 70 and 71 mounted on the carrier structure generally indicated at 72.

The arms 73 are preferably bolted to the underside of the beams 69 at spaced positions along its length to supplement the plate 67 and support the knife assembly solidly at its point of engagement with the log 48. The strip 74 being peeled from the log extends over the roller 75 mounted on the bracekt extension 76, and from there over the intermediate roller 77 mounted on the bars 78 and 79 secured to the log-support structures 51 and 52. The strip passes from this point over to the roll 40 being accumulated around the core rod 38, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 4.

The carriage of the machine includes a group of components mounted on the generally U-shaped sub frame which includes the horizontal beam 80, the leg 81 moving between the guiderails 30 and 31, and the leg 82 moving between the guiderails 32 and 33. The leg 81 has a pair of retaining bars 83-84 near the upper extremity, and pairs of rollers at the inner and outer sides of the guiderails 30 and 31 identified at 85 and 86. These rollers are mounted at the opposite ends of a bracket preferably welded to the lower ends of the members 81 and 82. The structure at the opposite sides of the machine is the same in this particular area. The saw assembly is suspended from the rail 80, and the adjustment indicated at 87 establishes the desired degree of tension in the saw band 59. The lower course of this band is disposed preferably at a slight angle (approximately five degrees downward, as as shown in FIG. 6, and referring to the attitude of the parallel sides of the blade) with respect to the horizontal, and the cutting edge 66 is formed by the intersection at an acute angle of the downwardly-inclined beveled surface 66a with the serrations 88 indented (preferably by grinding) in the bottom of the band 59. It is preferable to incorporate a mechanism for applying tension between the opposite ends of the blade-stabilizing structure shown in FIG. 6, but this mechanism forms no part of this invention, and is not illustrated.

The control of the downward movement of the knife 59 toward the axis of rotation of the log 48 is determined by the screw jacks 89 and 90 mounted at the opposite sides of the machine. The thrust bearings 91 and 92 sustain the vertical loads supported by these screw jacks, which is primarily that of the assembly carried by the carrier 72. The brackets 93 and 94 are respectively connected to the lower extremities of the legs 81 and 82 of the carrier frame. The ball-nut units 95 and 96 are secured to these brackets, and engage the screw jacks 89 and 90 for the transmission of force to the screw jacks. The rotation of the screw jacks is interrelated by the chain 96a engaging sprockets rotatably fixed with respect to the screw jacks 89 and 90, with the central portion of the chain preferably stabilized by idler sprockets positioned as indicated at 97 in FIG. 2. The upper ends of the screw jacks 89 and 90 are preferably similarly stabilized by bearings 98 and 99 mounted on the carrier 72, but the screw jacks are free to move axially through these bearings.

The rotation of the screw jacks is induced by a power transfer system driven by the shaft 54, which is rotated by the log 48 as it is pulled past the knife assembly. The sprocket 100 is rotatively fixed with respect to the shaft 54, and drives the chain 101. This chain transfers torque to the sprocket 102 secured to the shaft 103 mounted for rotation in the brackets 104 and 105. The tension on the chain is controlled by the idler sprocket 106 mounted on the arm 107, which is pivotally attached to support structure 52 so that adjustment about the pivot bolt 108 will establish the necessary chain torsion. A plate (109 is mounted on the beam structure 52, and carries the bearing brackets 110 and 111 supporting the shaft 112. Op

posite step-cone pulleys 113 and 114 are respectively mounted on the shafts 103 and 112, so that a belt 115 can transmit power from one to the other at variable speed ratios. It is preferable that at least the bearing brackets 104 and 105 be adjustably mounted on the plate 109, so that movement of the shaft 103 toward the shaft 112 can be provided to shorten the distance between the pulleys 113 and 114 for change of belt position. The diameters of the various points along the axes of the stepcone pulleys are selected to produce a given thickness of strip material, consideration being given to the ratio of power transfer of the remainder of the components of the system. Preferably, the adjustability of the step cone pulleys with respect to each other is provided by a conventional form of positioning means under the control of a handle or lever of any convenient form.

The sprocket 116 transfers power through the chain 117 to a conventional cross-drive worm gear mechanism mounted within the housing 118, the output of which is delivered through the shaft 119 and sprocket 120 via the chain 120a to the sprocket 121 carried by the coupling hub 122 which rotates about the lower extension 123 of the screw jack 89. A clutch member 124 is rotatively fixed with respect to the screw jack 89, and power from the rotating log 48 is ultimately delivered to rotate the screw jack when the clutch 124 is in the position shown in FIG. 7. This movement continues as the log 48 is reduced in diameter as the cutting action proceeds, until the lowering carriage 72 brings the lower end of the actuator bar 125 (secured to the lower extremity of the member 81 of the carriage by the bolts 126) into engagement with the cantilever portion of the clutch lever 127. This lever is pivotally mounted on the vertical beam 31 on the bolt 128, with the spring 129 providing a biasing action holding the clutch in the position shown in FIG. 7. The forces applied by the clutch arm 127 are transferred to the clutch plate 130, which serves the purpose of axially positioning the clutch member 124. This plate is freely rotatable with respect to the clutch. The inner extremity of the arm 127 is connected to a bracket 131, and there should be sufficient looseness of connection, or other form of lost motion as indicated at 131a, to accommodate the slightly varying distance between the pivot connection at the bracket 131 and the pivot bolt 128 as the lever 127 is actuated. The contact of the lower end of the bar 125 with the lever 127 serves to disengage the clutch from the coupling 122, thus terminating the delivery of power to the screw jack 89. When it becomes desirable to elevate the carriage 72 to permit the insertion of a new log, the lever 127 may be further actuated (in a downward direction, as shown in FIG. 7) by foot pressure so that the upper extremity of the clutch 124 engages the coupling hub 132 of the sprocket r133. Either this action, or an independent switch, can then be used to energize the motor 134 to drive the chain 135, and thus rotate the screw jacks in an appropriate direction to raise the carriage 72.

The rollers 136 and 137 are rotatably supported at their opposite ends in the frame extensions 28 and 29, and these rollers are driven by the motor 138 through the chain 139 and the sprocket 140. The chain 141 extending between the sprockets mounted on the projecting ends of the rollers 136 and 137 assures that these rollers rotate together. The rollers form the support for the accumulating roll 40, with the result that the operation of the motor 138 establishes the velocity of movement of the strip 74 being peeled from the log 48. The rate of rotation of the motor 138 is preferably controllable through suitable conventional speed-control systems, so that the'rate of movement of the strip can be placed at a maximum of which the knife assembly is capable.

The screwjacks 89 and 90 are preferably protected by telescoping housings having components secured respectively to the main frame of the machine and to the carriage 72. These are not shown on the drawings.

The particular embodiments of the present invention which have been illustrated and discussed herein are for illustrative purposes only and are not to be considered as a limitation upon the scope of the appended claims. In these claims, it is our intent to claim the entire invention disclosed herein, except as we are limited by the prior art.

We claim:

1. A machine for peeling a continuous strip from the periphery of an elongated source mass provided with a core member, said machine having a band knife assembly mounted in a frame normally supporting said source mass, wherein the improvement comprises:

bearing means mounted in said frame for supporting said source mass;

shaft means rotatably mounted in said bearing means and including coupling means engageable with said core member;

carrier means mounted in said frame, said carrier means and bearing means being supported for relative movement, said carrier means supporting said band knife in position to engage said source mass;

a mechanism for positioning said carrier and bearing means with respect to each other in said frame, said mechanism being operative to decrease the distance between said band knife and the axis of said bearing means as said mass rotates with respect to said frame;

a strip-accumulator including at least one supporting driving roller mounted in said frame for rotation on an axis parallel to the axis of said bearing means; and

locating means adapted to maintain an accumulated roll in engagement with said driving roller.

2. A machine defined in claim 1, wherein said bearing means is horizontal and mounted in fixed position, and said carrier is vertically movable in said frame.

3. A machine as defined in claim 2, wherein said band knife is normally above said bearing means, and rotation of said source mass and shaft means provides power to said mechanism to lower said carrier.

4. A machine as defined in claim 1, wherein said shaft means includes an axially slidable component providing variable spacing between coupling means associated with each of coaxial shaft members to admit a source mass therebetween and engage the opposite ends thereof, respectively.

5. A machine as defined in claim 1, wherein said band knife engages said source mass in a position adjacent a horizontal tangent to the top of said source means, and said machine includes guide means for conducting a strip peeled from said source mass to said guide roller.

6. A machine as defined in claim 5, wherein said band knife has a cross-section defined by upper and lower parallel surfaces, a trailing edge, and a cutting edge having a single incline to said upper and lower edge intersecting said lower edge at an acute angle, said lower edge being disposed at an angle of five degrees downward toward said cutting edge.

7. A machine as defined in claim 1, wherein said means for positioning said carrier includes at least one screwjack supporting said carrier, and also includes variableratio power-transfer means between said shaft means and said screwjack.

8. A machine as defined in claim 7, wherein said variable-ratio power transfer includes an oppositely-disposed pair of step-cone pulleys providing speed ratios to induce a rate of movement of said band knife toward said hearing axis such that predetermined thicknesses of peeled strips are produced.

9. A machine as defined in claim 7, wherein said mech anism for positioning said carrier also includes a clutch operative to disengage said power transfer system from said screwjack on the arrival of said carrier at a limit downward position, said clutch also being operative to engage an upward return drive with said screwjack to elevate said carrier.

10. A machine as defined in claim 1, wherein said 10- cating means includes opposite pairs of vertical parallel guide rails spaced to receive a roll core member.

11. A machine as defined in claim 9, wherein the guide rails on one side of a plane between the rails of both of said pairs is displaceable to provide for lateral removal of a roll and core member.

12. A machine as defined in claim 10, wherein said displaceable rails are pivotable downward to provide ramp surfaces for said core members.

8 References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,827,413 3/1958 Friedmann 82-47X 3,250,161 5/1966 Guilford 82101 HARRISON L. HINSON, Primary Examiner UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION Pa ent No. 3,537,342 ed November 3, 1970 l fl ROBERT M. PIiCK, ET. AL.

It is certified that error appears in the above-identified patent and that said Letters Patent are hereby corrected as shown below:

In the grant only, cancel the second sheet of drawing marked "5 Sheets Sheet 4". Insert Sheet 2 of the drawing as per the attached.

Signed and sealed this 6th day of August 1974.

(SEAL) Attest:

McCOY M. GIBSON, JR. C. MARSHALL DANN Attesting Officer Commissioner of Patents PAGE 2 Nov. 3, 1970 R. M. PECK ETAL 3,537,342

PEELING MACHINE Filed July 23. 1968 5 Shoots-Sheet 2 mvsn'roxs Robert M. Peck Edwin P. Thompson I39 I40 I41 I" 7/,- km 

